Four AN/FPS-50 detection reflectors at Thule Site J. The concrete foundation included a large refrigeration system to prevent the curing concrete's heat from melting Permafrost.
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LoginThe northernmost station of the Solid State Phased Array Radar System, the military installation was built as the 1st site of the RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System and had 5 of 12 BMEWS radars.
Constructdion begin in 1958.
On the same date as the BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility in the US Zone of the Interior, "at midnight on 30 September 1960 ["BMEWS Site I"] achieved initial operational capability", and a "shakedown" period followed which used the simplex MIP and voice transmission of data to the Colorado Springs' CC&DF.
attached photo
False alarm
On October 5, 1960, when Khrushchev was in New York, radar returns during moonrise at Thule produced a false alarm (on January 20, 1961, CINCNORAD approved 2-second FPS-50 frequency hopping to eliminate reception of echoes beyond artificial satellite orbits.)